Progress 09/01/10 to 08/31/12
Outputs
OUTPUTS: Financial Literacy Special Project Grant number 2010-470002-21418 with a no-cost extension until August 2013. With the extension we have been able to come very close to the 1000 participants and continue to meet the needs of the students and community. We have three certified instructors and have utilized student organizations within the CMN to help in incorporating our goals of this grant. With the incorporation of this grant we continue to provide Financial Literacy to incoming students through our orientation process every semester. Another requirement within CMN is to provide to our incoming nursing students information on spending and budgeting. We complete two, four hour workshops every semester with approximately forty students in each session. We continue to address issues of Predatory Lending, Credit Reports, Building Credit, One on One Credit Counseling, and utilizing the Building Native Communities curriculum to our Student Success Strategy Class every semester. CMN has reached over one hundred students throughout this process and we are certain we are making a change for them. CMN continues to work with Asset Builders of Madison to offer the Challenge Bowl which, is a Financial competition for high school students. We have offered this the last three years and this year we have 12 schools participating in with a possible 2 more schools registering. CMN continues to work with surrounding entities and has provided information on Financial Literacy through different learning fairs offered at the college. We have also partnered with the Eagles Nest Homeless Shelter and continue to offer workshops for their clients, The Community Resource Center which offers many different programs to their clients, we continue to offer training to our Elders throughout the Senior centers and on site workshops, and large group in house sessions for all community members. Many of our sessions have been offered more than one time at the request of our community and CMN. We have utilized Building Native Communities Curriculum and provided copies of the books to all participants along with information on the Do' and Don'ts of Budgeting. Many outside agencies, such as banks and credit unions have come in to address some of the issues we face as a community. We may not have hit 1000 unduplicated numbers, but we certainly have hit over one thousand students and community members in our variety of workshop sessions. The need for financial education within our community boundary is an ongoing need, and I feel this grant has opened the door to allow the information to be dispersed and has provided a hunger for improvement in the lives of our community members. PARTICIPANTS: PI-Renee OKimosh provided general management of the grant as well as many of the large and small group workshops. Renee is a certified Building Native Communities instructor and is PI of another grant involving Financial Literacy. She has designed and coordinated many training programs based on the needs of the organization and continues to utilize financial literacy throughout the community, from youth to Elders. She has formed partnerships, negotiated contracts,and designed training needs for specific departments. She has managed the budget and recorded outcomes of completed workshops. Annette Miller and Alegra Fowler have also a certified in Building Native Communities and have been working with Renee in many of the workshops. CMN has formed partnerships with the American Indian Business Leaders from our student organization at CMN and utilized them to help complete workshops. These students have provided extensive support in our workshops. We have built partnerships with the Community Resource Center, Eagles Nest Homeless Shelter, our Alternative Education Center, and our TrANS program. Within CMN we offer training in Financial Literacy in our Student Success Strategy Classes as well as all incoming nursing students every semester. Our nursing students are mandated to take a session in Financial Literacy which is a total of four hours and then one on one sessions, hands on which are one hour or longer. We have built a partnership with Asset Builders out of Madison which offer a Finance and Investment Challenge Bowl every year for high school students. We just completed this years competition and had 12 teams register. The purpose of this competition is to promote financial education and wealth building strategies to enhance the quality of life of low-income youth, families and communities. We have partnered with FI$C Goodwill Industries out of Appleton, WI. to offer One on One Credit counseling. This is an organization that works with teaching and helping people repair their credit reports and how to manage their money. CMN has provided workshops with our STI students, which are grades 6 - 8 from the MISD school district. We have done presentations of financial literacy at Fall & Spring orientations with incoming students. Financial Literacy has been presented in workshop form to other surrounding communities covering areas of Predatory Lenders. Credit Reports, How to Build Credit, One on One Credit Counseling, Budgeting, and utilized Building Native Communities Curriculum in cultural workshops for the schools and community. CMN has brought in banks from the surrounding areas to talk with participants on opportunities they provide and answer questions about finances. CMN will continue to offer workshops to sustain this program and build confidence in the participants we have serviced. TARGET AUDIENCES: The primary focus of this grant is to provide financial literacy to our tribal members and the upcoming generation of this tribe. Through our workshops we have been able to restore some of that confidence and provide continued education. Our target audience is not only students, but the youth and Elders of this tribe. Our strong belief is to provide training that will empower the cultural heritage and focus on traditional training to renew our participants self-esteem and worth. We have purchased a curriculum that provides personal finance, which is an interactive curriculum. This curriculum is used to teach critical money and life skills needed to survive in a critically and complex world. It brings together all of the essential pieces you need to teach students of all ages. This curriculum uses the knowledge of computers and technology and offers simulations and online assessments. It also teaches money basics, career paths,banking, and spending, which is an essential part of financial literacy. We have not only applied financial literacy to our student here at CMN but have taken it out to our Elders and our youth. We have provided information in all areas of finances and feel we have opened the door to changes in many of our peoples lives. DoCE will continue to work with our student organizations to sustain the importance of financial literacy and how it effects the future of this tribe. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: The only major change we have had is the extension of this grant. Being out on medical leave we had to ask for an extension to meet some of the outcomes of the grant. The extension was needed to provide workshops for our student population and the Elders of this community. This program has reached out and provided positive effects to the areas we service and sustainability is now our major goal.
Impacts
The primary focus of this grant is to provide financial sustainability to our tribal members. We have partnered with (FI$C) Goodwill Industries to bring one on one credit counseling to begin with the repair process of peoples credit reports. Through this counseling we have been able to restore some of our participants confidence and provide continuing education which, allows them to become even more confident in their future success. We have focused on the efforts of sustainability, partnerships and collaborations with the understanding partnerships promote the greatest opportunities. Budgeting workshops have proven to successful in our classes. Students have been provided with budget books and documentation in these books has lead students to see where their money is being spent and to what extent they can change their actions. Participants are now aware of the information on Predatory Lenders and high interest rates. Banks from the surrounding areas have also come in to talk with participants and discuss opportunities for them to take advantage of to build their credit. With the continuation of these types of opportunities, our students, community members, and the future generation of this tribe can be prepared for the financial sustainability of the future.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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Progress 09/01/11 to 08/30/12
Outputs
OUTPUTS: The Financial Literacy Special Project - Increasing Economic Opportunities and Improved Quality of Life has reached out far beyond our expectations. We have completed the proposed project activities, but are slightly short of the proposed number of people trained in objectives two and three. We have requested a grant extension to provide more workshops and spend out the monies left in the grant. To date we have certified three instructors, trained ten members of the American Indian Business Leaders (AIBL) organization and four members from Strategies for Ecology Education, Diversity and Sustainability (SEEDS) to help with training under certified instructors. Our student instructors have put in many hours to research curriculum and present it in the most useful ways. They are the highlight of this program and I am very impressed with their work. To date we have trained 315 people within and outside our community. We were not able to hit the first orientation due to the start date of the grant but have worked very hard to meet other goals. We have covered many areas and have requests for more workshops. Areas covered: Predatory Lenders, Credit reports, Building Credit, One on One Credit Counseling, and the Building Native Community Curriculum. We have worked with Eagles Nest (Homeless shelter), Community Resource Center (CRC), Alternative School (MISD) Student Success Strategy classes (College of Menominee Nation), our Elder population, and students at our CMN Green Bay site. On April 12, 2011, CMN collaborated with Asset Builders out of Madison to offer the Challenge Bowl. 23 students were involved in this contest from surrounding high schools. To date we have trained 177 students within the Keshena and Green Bay Campus, 118 community members, and 21 community members from the Mole Lake Community. We still have organizations requesting workshops on Predatory Lending, Financial Skills, and How to Improve Credit Scores. Many of these sessions have been duplicated per request. We also have enough money in our grant to accommodate these requests. Our Credit Repair workshops have been met with overwhelming interest and this fall we will be reaching out to high school students preparing for their first year in college. The need for financial education is an ongoing need in this community and I believe through financial education we can meet the needs of this community. PARTICIPANTS: Our Financial workshop information is sent out regularly through the email process at CMN, which hits faculty and students. We also provide a workshop calendar on the TV which is placed in the Atrium in the main building for all CMN and people who frequent our college. This information is also included at our Green Bay site for the Green Bay area. Flyers are sent out with our recruiter when traveling to specific areas to reach as many resources as possible. Brochures have been provided at specific meetings to be passed on throughout the community at request. We also utilize the Menominee Nation website to get information out in the community. DoCE will continue to work our student organizations (American Indian Business Leaders & Strategies for Environmental Education Development and Sustainability). These organizations have played a crucial part of sustainability along with other personnel. Our one-on-one credit counseling has been taken out into the homes of our Elders to initially work with their problems and concerns about budgeting. We are continuing to work with surrounding tribal communities and offer sessions to meet financial concerns. TARGET AUDIENCES: Target audiences have been our student population at College of Menominee Nation, our academic support groups within CMN, our Elders and our community programs. We are now starting to work with the students in our Nursing program and out tribal loggers. This program has reached out and had positive effects in many areas of this tribe. We have been servicing many different tribes enrolled in our facility who are addressing the same problems financially due to cultural issues. We are continuing to offer one on one sessions and how to build good credit. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.
Impacts
Outcomes: The primary focus of this grant is to provide financial sustainability to our tribal members. Through our workshops and one-on-one sessions with a credit counselor, we have been able to restore some of that confidence and provide continued education in many areas. We have a consistent number who have attended more than three workshops to continue to receive help in their financial situation. We are focusing this summer on the Menominee Indian School District and incoming summer enrollment. Our strong belief is to provide training which will empower the cultural heritage and focus on traditional learning to renew self esteem. Impacts: CMN has focused on the efforts of sustainability, partnerships and collaborations with the understanding that external partnerships promote the greatest opportunities. With the recruiting process and the financial sustainability, CMN should be able to graduate students and ensure the long term success of the college. We will also have opened the door to provide financial help to Elders and clients who have the greatest need for Financial help along with community success.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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Progress 09/01/10 to 08/31/11
Outputs
Since the beginning of the grant three staff members have been certified in train-the-trainer Building Native Communities and are doing workshops to meet the requirements. This process of certification was delayed due to the scheduling of training sessions and the locations it was being offered. To date we have held 22 training sessions. Areas covered: Predatory Lenders, Credit reports, Building Credit, One on One Credit Counseling, and the Building Native Community Curriculum. We have worked with Eagles Nest (Homeless shelter), Community Resource Center (CRC), Alternative School (MISD) Student Success Strategy classes (College of Menominee Nation) American Indian Business Leaders (AIBL) students, our Elder population, students at our CMN Green Bay site and the SEEDS students at CMN. On April 12, 2011, CMN collaborated with Asset Builders out of Madison to offer the Challenge Bowl. 23 students were involved in this contest from surrounding high schools. MISD placed second and traveled to sectionals. We have trained 15 students from CMN to do workshops in the many areas our community needs. As of May 31, 2011, we have trained more than 215 students and community members within Financial Literacy, with hopes of at least 300 more before the grant ends. We continue to work with the Curriculum Committee on having a one credit course put into the schedule for new incoming students. A curriculum has been submitted and passed through the first steps. A committee of students from our student organizations have been an asset to promoting the workshops we have provided and they continue to be the recruiting resource we need. We have also maintained that students learn at a higher rate from other students, which has been a proven asset of this grant. Being one of the poorest counties in the United States we believe that we are starting to see some progress in changing these numbers. PRODUCTS: Instructional materials have been purchased for the workshops and are given out after completion of the workshops. These materials have been purchased as a resource for participants to upgrade their financial status and build on the financial future of our clients. Many of our participants have returned for more training and one on one credit counseling after completing the initial curriculum. Stipends have been provided to the students for their presentations. A financial curriculum CD has been purchased and we will be providing workshops in this area throughout the summer. This curriculum is designed to help incoming freshman and we will be working with the graduates of Menominee Indian School District through our mobile classroom. OUTCOMES: The primary focus of this grant is to provide financial sustainability to our tribal members. Through our workshops and one-on-one sessions with a credit counselor, we have been able to restore some of that confidence and provide continued education in many areas. We have a consistent number who have attended more than three workshops to continue to receive help in their financial situation. We are focusing this summer on the Menominee Indian School District and incoming summer enrollment. Our strong belief is to provide training which will empower the cultural heritage and focus on traditional learning to renew self esteem. DISSEMINATION ACTIVITIES: Our Financial workshop information is sent out regularly through the email process at College of Menominee Nation, which hits faculty and students. We also provide a workshop calendar on the TV which is placed in the Atrium in the main building for all College of Menominee nation students and faculty and people who frequent our college. This information is also included at our Green Bay site for the Green Bay area. Flyers are sent out with our recruiter when traveling to specific areas to reach as many resources as possible. Brochures have been provided at specific meeting to be passed on throughout the community at request. FUTURE INITIATIVES: DoCE will continue to work on the for credit class for all incoming freshman. This class be provide one credit (15 hours) of hands on training in the areas how to maintain financial skills for the family, how to budget money, spending plans, savings and checking accounts, credit reports and how to fix and maintain, predatory lenders, and other areas that will help secure financial sustainability. The student organizations (American Indian Business Leaders & Strategies for Environmental Education Development and Sustainability) will play a crucial part of sustainability along with other personnel. Our one-on-one credit counseling is being taken out into the homes of our Elders to initially work with their problems and concerns about budgeting. We will continue to work with surrounding tribal communities and offer sessions to meet financial concerns.
Impacts
CMN has focused on the efforts of sustainability, partnerships and collaborations with the understanding that external partnerships promote the greatest opportunities. With the recruiting process and the financial sustainability, CMN should be able to graduate students and ensure the long term success of the college. We will also have opened the door to provide financial help to Elders and clients who have the greatest need for Financial help along with community success.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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